The St. Louis Cardinals continue to post positive numbers, gaining another four ratings points and increasing its overall lead in KP’s latest edition of MLB Power Rankings at The Wife Hates Sports.
The Tigers, led by superstar Miguel Cabrera, returned to second place. Following Detroit and rounding out the top five are the Boston Red Sox, Cincinnati Reds and Atlanta Braves. Cincinnati returned to the top five after a gain of seventeen ratings points, a feat that was outdone by these five teams:
Toronto Blue Jays: +44 points
San Diego Padres: +24 points
Los Angeles Angels: +23 points
Cleveland Indians: +22 points
Kansas City Royals: +20 points
The Boston Red Sox and Texas Rangers posted abysmal marks, with Texas dropping 35 ratings points, the biggest decline of the week. Here are the five teams that had the biggest drop:
Texas Rangers: -35 points
New York Yankees: -33 points
Arizona Diamondbacks: -22 points
Boston Red Sox: -18 points
Tampa Bay Rays: -18 points
The entire list of Power Rankings are as follows, featuring stats or tidbits for each of the thirty teams, while highlighting the clubs that had positive or negative jumps in the latest poll:
Yadier Molina appears to be a safe bet to be the starting catcher at the All-Star Game
KP’s MLB Power Rankings: June 18, 2013
Note: Statistics and point totals as of Tuesday morning (6/18/13) and do not include night games
1. St. Louis Cardinals (169 points) – Last Week: #1 (+4)
Adam Wainwright leads the NL in wins (with 10) and Yadier Molina leads the league in batting average, posting a .355 mark.
2. Detroit Tigers (127 points) – Last Week: #3 (+13)
Miguel Cabrera is currently in a Triple Crown battle with Baltimore’s Chris Davis. The Detroit masher is 1st in the AL in average (.358), 2nd in HR (19) and 1st in RBI (71).
3. Boston Red Sox (118 points) – Last Week: #2 (-18)
Boston’s .788 OPS is currently better than any other team in baseball.
4. Cincinnati Reds (111 points) – Last Week: #6 (+17)
Most talk about Robinson Cano’s Fantasy dominance at second base, but Brandon Phillips (56 RBI, 2nd in the NL) should also be mentioned in the same breath – at least, in 2013.
5. Atlanta Braves (100 points) – Last Week: #4 (-10)
The Atlanta pitching staff jumped ahead of St. Louis, and now own baseball’s best overall team ERA, with a mark of 3.20.
6. Oakland Athletics (90 points) – Last Week: #7 (+5)
It was only a few weeks ago that Bartolo Colon could be had in a large number of Fantasy leagues, and now he’s tied for second in the American League in wins, with nine.
7. Texas Rangers (67 points) – Last Week: #5 (-35)
The Rangers are scuffling offensively, scoring just 47 runs, while batting .227 in the month of June.
8. Pittsburgh Pirates (67 points) – Last Week: #11 (+9)
In his first two Major League starts, Gerrit Cole is 2-0, with a 3.75 ERA and 1.17 WHIP.
9. Colorado Rockies (64 points) – Last Week: #10 (-1)
Colorado’s .786 OPS is currently the best mark in the National League.
10. Kansas City Royals (64 points) – Last Week: #14 (+20)
Salvador Perez (.304 average, 11 doubles, 2 triples, 3 HR) deserves some American League All-Star consideration at the catcher position.
11. Baltimore Orioles (62 points) – Last Week: #12 (+5)
Chris Davis is currently in a Triple Crown battle with Detroit’s Miguel Cabrera. The Orioles cleanup hitter is 2nd in the AL in average (.337), 1st in HR (24) and 2nd in RBI (61).
12. Arizona Diamondbacks (59 points) – Last Week: #8 (-22)
Patrick Corbin (9-0, 2.28 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 74 K’s) is a major contender to start for the National League in the All-Star game.
13. New York Yankees (41 points) – Last Week: #9 (-33)
The Yankees are battling through injuries and struggling offensively because of it. New York’s .217 average (this month) is currently the worst mark in the American League.
14. Tampa Bay Rays (30 points) – Last Week: #13 (-18)
Jeremy Hellickson and the Rays’ pitching staff have struggled at times this season
Often known for its pitching, Tampa Bay has a team ERA of 4.37, which is the third worst in baseball.
15. San Francisco Giants (22 points) – Last Week: #15 (-9)
Madison Bumgarner leads the team in wins (6), ERA (3.30) and strikeouts (89).
16. San Diego Padres (20 points) – Last Week: #18 (+24)
Posting a winning record for the first time in a few years, the Padres have received contributions from many players, including Will Venable (9 HR), Everth Cabrera (.305 avg) and Yonder Alonso (29 RBI).
17. Toronto Blue Jays (18 points) – Last Week: #26 (+44)
The Jays are riding a major hot streak that is putting them back into contention – and better yet, Jose Reyes could be nearing a return.
18. Cleveland Indians (15 points) – Last Week: #20 (+22)
Carlos Santana is having a fine year offensively, leading the team in OBP (.385) and batting average (.283), while also belting ten home runs.
19. Los Angeles Angels (5 points) – Last Week: #24 (+23)
Howie Kendrick (.335 average, 3rd in AL) is finally reaching his offensive potential with the Angels.
20. Washington Nationals (3 points) – Last Week: #16 (-3)
Fantasy owners rejoice: Anthony Rendon – and his .344 batting average – should now be eligible at second base, thanks to ten games played at the position.
21. Chicago Cubs (-11 points) – Last Week: #19 (-5)
The Cubs have a trio of starters – Travis Wood, Scott Feldman and Jeff Samardzija – with an ERA below 3.50 this season.
22. Minnesota Twins (-15 points) – Last Week: #23 (+1)
Minnesota’s 25 quality starts are four less than any other team in baseball this season.
23. Philadelphia Phillies (-19 points) – Last Week: #17 (-16)
It may come as a surprise, but the Phillies have more quality starts (47) than any other team in the National League this season.
24. Los Angeles Dodgers (-19 points) – Last Week: #21 (-7)
Clayton Kershaw’s 5-4 record is surprising, considering his 1.84 ERA, 104 K’s and 0.97 WHIP.
25. Milwaukee Brewers (-19 points) – Last Week: #25 (+1)
Often overlooked in Milwaukee’s lineup, Carlos Gomez (12 HR, 37 RBI, .317 avg) is having a spectacular fantasy season for the Brewers.
26. Chicago White Sox (-21 points) – Last Week: #22 (-8)
Chris Sale has ten quality starts, combined with a 2.43 ERA and 0.90 WHIP this season.
27. Seattle Mariners (-40 points) – Last Week: #27 (-6)
Hisashi Iwakuma (2.06 ERA) and Felix Hernandez (2.32) currently have the second and third best ERA’s in the American League.
28. New York Mets (-49 points) – Last Week: #28 (-10)
David Wright continues to put up great offensive numbers, despite a lack of protection in the lineup. Overall, Wright is batting .300, with 9 HR, 4 triples and 11 doubles.
29. Houston Astros (-82 points) – Last Week: #29 (+2)
Houston’s .207 team batting average in June is the worst in baseball.
30. Miami Marlins (-86 points) – Last Week: #30 (+2)
In four starts with the Marlins, Jacob Turner has a 1-0 record, with a 2.16 ERA and 1.20 WHIP.
* All stats per MLB.com
Note: RED = Falling 3+ spots from last week, GREEN = Rising 3+ spots from last week
The Wife Hates Sports MLB Power Rankings system has a method to its madness, attempting to be different and not just rank by popularity and record. It mixes a secret formula of six completely different categories, meshed into a points system. The categories don’t just include team results regarding record, but how each team has performed recently, as well as incorporating some statistics on both a team’s offense and pitching staff, too.
TOP–
It would be quite a shock to see Davis keep the current pace, but he has such a big lead in the home run department, it is a good possibility that he could hold on there, preventing Cabrera from getting the repeat triple crown.
Chris
Unlike Heat fans , we Spurs` fans don`t abandon our team like immature children which seems to be a trait when it comes to fans in the state of Florida and te professional sports franchises they allegedly support . Fair weather fans I believe they are called
tophatal ………. .
Not as much as it did for San Antonio fans, brother.
REV–
It was a good game, for sure. I’m not singing its praises as much as everyone else, but nevertheless, entertaining. Duncan was off the charts in the first half, then LeBron in the 4th quarter.
I bet that Ray Allen triple stung for Boston fans.
TOP–
Cabrera has been a beast, but he may not be able to match last year’s Triple Crown, if Baltimore’s Chris Davis keeps it up. 26 homers already… he’s really locked in.
I think most of the country is rooting for the Spurs. Something tells me this last game will be the best one, and the Heat will cruise in Game 7
Game Six ranks number one in my power rankings.